A Reason To Believe
by Wood Elf luver
Summary: It was just the perfect kind of day to take a hunting trip with his best friend, Aragorn, Legolas thought. But the unsuspecting trip turns into a nightmare for both Legolas and Aragorn.
1. Chapter 1

It was a perfect day in the forests of Mirkwood. The skies were clear, the sun shone down brightly from the sky. It was the middle of winter, and snow glistened everywhere. To Legolas, it was a perfect day to for a hunting trip with his best friend, Aragorn.

Suddenly, Legolas stopped, looking around. Where was Aragorn? He knew that before his mind had wondered away from the road in front of him that Aragorn had been riding right beside him on one of the horses from the stables. But he just...disappeared.

It didn't take long to find Aragorn. Legolas didn't really find him, instead, he got hit in the back of the head with a large snowball. "Hey!" he shouted from the direction the snowball had come from. He decided to arm himself and quickly made a snowball. Right when he got done making it, Aragorn popped out from behind a tree, and pelted three snowballs at Legolas.

All three missed, and Legolas turned and said, "Ha, you missed me," but then another sailed right into his face, and Legolas blindly threw his snowball. It landed with a thud on the ground at Aragorn's feet.

"Wow, Legolas, well met. I didn't think you could throw THAT good." Legolas scowled at the sarcasm, but soon was smiling. "You have no room to talk about being able to throw. Last time we had a snowball fight, all of your snowballs hit a tree."

Aragorn grinned. "Only because YOU were in the tree, cheater!" Aragorn tackled an unsuspecting Legolas, and they both tumbled to the ground, laughing and throwing snow at each other.

Aragorn stopped when Legolas suddenly became serious, looking off into the woods as though he heard danger coming. "Aragorn, Orcs approach." A

"How many are there?"

"They're too close to outrun, but there's less than ten."

Aragorn nodded and unsheathed his sword while Legolas pulled his bow over his shoulder and skillfully pulled an arrow from his quiver. He notched it on the bow, Aragorn watching as he listened carefully. Everything was still, but Legolas shot somewhere in the distance at some unseen object. They heard a thunk as something heavy fell to the ground, and then, the Orcs swarmed out of the woods.

There were only nine, counting the one that Legolas must've killed in the forest, and soon, the last Orc standing Legolas decided he would take. They both fought viciously, but Legolas was tiring fast. This was a disadvantage that the Orc saw and decided to use against him, and before Legolas could see the Orc's next move, it plunged it's dirty, rusted sword into Legolas's side.

Legolas gasped as the tip made contact with his flesh, and struggled as the sword was plunged deeper. Aragorn reacted immediately at the site, having been in this situation too many times to count. He beheaded the Orc from behind, and caught Legolas as his legs buckled beneath him.

Legolas could hear Aragorn shouting for him to stay awake, but he just couldn't control the blackness that overtook his mind as he plunged into oblivion.


	2. Chapter 2

Aragorn layed Legolas down flat on the ground. 'This is all my fault. If I hadn't stopped our trail, we wouldn't have gotten into this mess, and Legolas wouldn't be injured', thought Aragorn, and he could feel a sense of guilt welling up in his chest. But he forcefully pushed it aside, not going to fail Legolas again.

Aragorn lifted the Elf's tunic to reveal the extent of the injury. The area around the wound was already turning red, showing the first signs of infection. Aragorn wanted to slap himself for failing to bring healing supplies. Aragorn was so busy checking Legolas's wound that he didn't seem to notice the fast-approaching new danger. It was only when a sharp howl echoed through the forest near him that Aragorn looked up from his ministrations and realized that he had to act fast or he would have to face the danger.

He picked up Legolas from the ground and walked quickly to the Mirkwood horse that he had hidden in the forest so that he wouldn't accidentally fall victim to their snowball fight. Aragorn immediately wished he had the senses of Elves, wanting to know if he could even outrun the oncoming creatures. Once he and Legolas were mounted on the horse, he kicked the horse into a run.

They rode for what Aragorn thought was hours, but he couldn't be sure whether it was that long or not. The howls of the wolves got closer and closer. Aragorn sighed, knowing he couldn't get away from them. He stopped his horse, who whinnied nervously, looking around before looking at Aragorn, with a look in it's eyes that clearly said 'why did we stop? There's danger coming!'

Aragorn petted it's nose softly, whispering words of comfort to it in Elvish, and led it into the thick forest so it was hidden by the trees and bushes so that it wouldn't be attacked along with Legolas during the battle. The howls growing dangerously close, Aragorn unsheathed his sword once again, still dripping with the slimy, black Orc blood.

Soon, a wolf jumped out of the thicket and would've sliced Aragorn into bits had Aragorn not held his sword high. The wolf realized it's mistake too late, and the wolf yelped in pain as Aragorn pulled out the sword. More wolves surrounded Aragorn, all looking mad about the first kill not being Aragorn. The wolves pounced on him. Aragorn managed to kill two in only two swipes of his sword before he gasped in pain. A rather large wolf sunk it's teeth into his leg even more. Aragorn plunged the tip of his long sword into the wolf.

Once all the wolves were finished off, for Aragorn, he was relieved he'd gotten out not badly hurt. Fire laced up and down his leg, but he ignored it and went to find the horse he had hidden. When he found it, Aragorn noticed as he got on the horse that Legolas felt warm, too warm for his liking.

Legolas groaned softly at the movement behind him, and Aragorn felt his forehead, finding it burning with fever. The wound was definitely infected. Aragorn groaned, and rode on. His leg pained him with every movement, and if it was torture for him, he didn't know how Legolas could handle the pain.

They continued riding, until they reached the gates of Mirkwood. Aragorn smiled, relieved as the doors swung open, welcoming him in. Without realizing it, Aragorn fell off his horse, taking Legolas with him, and that's where the guards found them a few minutes later.

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Wood Elf luver: Oh, I'm not done yet. More to come later. Who knows, I might update tomorrow, I might update next week. Review any ideas you might have. Oh, and I get soo annoyed when authors start a story and then don't finish it, hence I AM finishing this story so that you won't have to suffer. I know, I'm a nice person. It's the holidays, so I'm trying hard to be nice. I'll update soon, but until then, keep on brainstorming! : )


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to all of those out there that have been following the story! Here's the next chapter! Oh, and by the way, merry Christmas and a happy New Year too! I lied, this chapter did come quicker than I thought it would!

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When Aragorn woke up the next morning, he was surprised to be met with a bright light. He quickly covered his eyes and tried to look anywhere but at the light.

He was in a room, and by the style of it, in Mirkwood. Hmm, he thought, taking his hand away from his eyes, I must've just had a bad dream. Aragorn looked at the light again, and felt foolish to know it was only coming through a window. He got up, and was just about to go find Legolas when he felt a very sharp pain in his leg. He looked down, and what he found made him gasp.

Deep teeth marks. So, it hadn't been a dream after all. Aragorn grew worried, and then remembered something. "LEGOLAS!" he shouted, running down the halls to the Elf's room as fast as he could with a limp. If this hadn't been a dream, that meant Legolas was gravely injured, and he hadn't realized it until now. Again, he felt guilty, but continued to Legolas's room.

When he got there, though, the bed was empty, looking as if no one had slept in it in a few days. Aragorn was confused. If Legolas wasn't here, he thought, he must be in the healing halls.

Again, he ran, and he was almost there when he accidentally slammed into somebody, and both fell to the ground. Aragorn got up and looked at the person, and his face turned bright red with embarassment. He had ran into Legolas's ada, Thranduil. Oops, he thought, WAY too late.

"Aragorn, what in the world are you doing?" asked Thranduil as he got up. Aragorn's face stayed red. "I was, um, looking for Legolas," he mumbled, but he knew Thranduil heard him because of all Elves had good hearing. "He's in the healing halls. You never got the chance to tell me what happened, but I have a pretty good guess. How was your hunting trip?"

Aragorn told him all about what happened and how Legolas and himself had both gotten injured. Thranduil sighed. "Well, I must say, not the most pleasant welcome back party, but, knowing my son, he's been in worse conditions than this over the years." Aragorn agreed. Legolas DID tend to always find trouble, and if he didn't find it, it found him.

"If you want to know how he's doing, he's still in a bad condition. His fever hasn't completely gone away and his wound won't heal as fast as usual. It's odd, his injuries heal fairly fast, but now, his ability is failing him. Come, he's this way, if you still want to see him."

He followed Thranduil to the healing halls, and right into a private room where only the royal family stayed. Usually the bed was occupied by only the person laying in it now, but they were still lucky to have it, because it gave them privacy.

Aragorn rushed over to the bed side, and took a close look at Legolas. His face was flushed from the fever, his hair drenched in sweat, and when Aragorn lifted his tunic to see the injury, the reddening still hadn't faded. Aragorn felt a pang of guilt, remembering what had delayed their trip, and how that delay had cost them dearly.

He suddenly realized something. His father would know how to help Legolas more than anyone in the palace. After whispering a prayer, he left the room and went to write to his own father, wondering if Elrond could help heal Legolas, or at least give them advice on what to do. When the letter was finished, he gave it to a messenger, and went back to the healing halls. All they had to do now was wait. But waiting can sometimes be more painful than a wound.

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Wood Elf luver: I know, this story is getting good! I didn't think I'd stay on topic for this long! I feel sorta proud. Usually I trail off and end up talking about something else, but not with this story. This is my first story so far, just to mention. I've started a new one already, and I have a feeling all of you who like Aragorn and Legolas getting into arguments might want to read it. Just saying, though, I hope it's as fun to write as this one, but I will leave you to read it yourself. TTYL! : )


	4. Chapter 4

Ok, sorry I didn't update this yesterday, but I wanted to have equal chapters for both of my current stories, and I decided to update day by day, plus, yesterday was Christmas. Gotta love Christmas. Hope you all had a good Christmas, and as your late present, here's the new chappie!

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Elrond was sitting in his study, reading papers and boring documents. He was just thinking about taking a break when a messenger came in. Elrond sat up straight.

"Lord Elrond, sir, you have a message from Aragorn."

Elrond got up from his seat and took the letter from the messenger. After thanking him, he opened the parchment, and almost dropped the letter. He read it again, and grabbed another piece of parchment and a quill. He started writing, and by the time he was done, it was getting dark outside. He sent it with a new messenger, telling him to hurry, it was an urgent message. The messenger nodded and left. Elrond sighed, returning to his work. But, he just wasn't able to focus long enough to get anything done. The letter had worried him, and he decided he would go to Mirkwood himself.

He knew exactly what was wrong with Legolas, and that if anyone could heal him, he could.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Aragorn sat slumped in a chair next to his friend. Legolas hadn't improved at all. His face was still flushed, his temperature uncharacteristicly high. Aragorn was about to drift off when someone came into the room. Aragorn looked up to find Thranduil had walked in, and was reading what looked like a letter in confusion. Aragorn just stared, waiting for the king to acknowledge his presence.

Slowly, Thranduil looked up from the paper and over at Aragorn. "This is from Elrond. He says he's coming, and he knows what's wrong with Legolas."

Aragorn was confused, and a little worried. If Elrond was coming, then that must've meant he had already gotten Aragorn's letter, and Legolas's condition was worse than they had thought. He had expected at the most advice, but the fact that Elrond was so urgent he was coming to Mirkwood himself disturbed Aragorn to an impossibly high limit. He looked over to Legolas, and noted that nothing had changed since he had been accompanied here with Thranduil the first time he had awoken.

Thranduil was again staring at the letter, skimming through it once more. "Well, I guess I better prepare for him to come, then. If his condition changes," he looked from Aragorn to Legolas, "then immediately inform me."

Aragorn nodded, and Thranduil left to go make preparations for the arrival of Elrond. Now all Aragorn had to do was wait. Again. He sighed. He hated waiting, especially if his friend was in a dangerous situation.


	5. Chapter 5

Ok, so, ya, this story may not be nearly as good as the others, but, time to continue on with it. There's like, idk, three chappies left, so, be ready to read!

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The next few days were hussle and bussle for the people of Mirkwood, all preparing for Lord Elrond of Rivendell to arrive. Excited chatter could be heard even outside the gates as Elrond approached. He rode his horse to the gates, which were opened as soon as he came into sight. Once he reached the palace, he handed off his steed to another younger Elf. Then, taking a deep breath, he opened the doors.

Inside there everything was even more hectic. Servants ran through almost every hall, trying to get to where they were ordered to go. Soon, Elrond was greeted by Thranduil, who embraced him with a hug before leading them through the halls that seemed to be less crowded when the King entered. Apparently his servants were scared to get in his way.

Elrond was the first to speak of the two. "How has Legolas been faring? In the letter I received from Estel, he said that Legolas was injured while they were out hunting, and he wasn't healing as fast as usual." Thranduil sighed and nodded. "It seems that for some reason, his wound refuses to heal and his fever keeps getting ever higher. We've done everything we can, Elrond, but I fear that he is already fading. It scares me to know that there is nothing I can do."

Elrond nodded, and Thranduil led them through the corridors to the healing halls. They entered the private room, and Elrond found Aragorn dozing in a chair next to Legolas's bed. He walked to the other side of the bed Legolas lay in, looking him over for the effects the wound was leaving. He noted the fever, the paleness of Legolas's skin, and that the wound was an angry red, showing infection set in it.

Thranduil stood at the door as he did this, looking from his son to Elrond, waiting for the healer to speak. Finally, Elrond turned back to Thranduil. "His wound is definitely infected, and the fever is abnormally high. The best we can do is try to bring the fever down as best as we can." Thranduil sighed, and at the brief sound, Aragorn woke up with a start, immediately looking at Legolas, thinking the noise had come from his friend. When he realized that his assumption was incorrect, he looked the other direction and spotted Elrond and Thranduil, talking in hushed tones. Aragorn couldn't help sighing with relief. His father was here. That meant Legolas would be fine, because Elrond would heal him quickly.

He didn't even expect what came next.

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Wood Elf luver: I left you with a cliff hanger! Please, just don't throw rocks at me. Not for my safety, but for your own. Trust me, you don't want me to get ahold of a rock when I'm frustrated. Review, please, where you think this story is going, and please, for the safety of everybody, do not try to kill me, or sneak up on me. I have some weird...reflexes. TTYL! : )


	6. Chapter 6

Ok, sorry I didn't update yesterday, but the Internet was down half the day, and i had church, and then I had to go make an igloo in the backyard(cuz who doesn't want to be like a penguin?) So, here I am, updating a new chappie the day AFTER it's due. Sorry, but it's an update at least. Kk, back to the story. Enjoy!

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Elrond stopped speaking to Thranduil and looked at Aragorn. He motioned for him to come talk with them in private, so Aragorn crossed the room. Elrond looked around before saying, "I came myself because the symptoms are similar to those of a very deadly poison that I came across a few years ago. It is extremely dangerous and causes great pain, which explains why Legolas has yet to wake. The pain is so intense that's it's keeping him deeply unconscious, so the first thing we need to do is see if my assumption is correct. This means we have to get inside the wound itself, and I'm going to need both of your help to do this." Aragorn and Thranduil nodded, both eager to do anything to help Legolas.

The three walked to Legolas's bedside, and Elrond gave instructions. "Thranduil, you hold Legolas down, in case the pain wakes him up, which is very possible. Aragorn, you help me look into the wound." So all of them did their jobs. Elrond looked opened the wound further, causing Legolas to immediately become very tense as consciousness came back to him. Legolas let out a sharp scream as the pain increased, and he instinctively tried to draw back, but Thranduil held him back with a strong grip. After Elrond inspected the wound, he looked up and closed the wound, not wanting to cause Legolas any more pain than had already been done.

Legolas shook with agony as the pain slowly lessened and eventually came down to being very sore. Elrond sighed. "My assumption was correct. The poison that I thought was in him is definitely in the wound and I'm not surprised he woke with pain. This will be a very painful experience for him." He whispered this last part to Thranduil, who was lightly stroking his son's hair, nodding. Elrond knelt on the other side of Legolas's bed. He took Legolas's hand, and Legolas opened his eyes and looked up at Elrond with blue eyes clouded with pain and exhaustion. The sight almost made Elrond's heart break in two.

"Legolas, you might be uncomfortable for a few days more, but trust me, we will help you through it." Thranduil grasped Legolas's other hand and squeezed it as Elrond said this last part, and Legolas looked to him. Thranduil gave him a reassuring smile. "He's right, Legolas, I won't leave your side." Legolas somehow managed to roll his eyes teasingly, and everyone chuckled, knowing how much Legolas held up his pride, and also knowing that Thranduil would stay true to his word.

With that, Legolas closed his eyes, and everyone watched as he fell back asleep. If that day was terrible for Legolas, the next few would be absolute TORTURE.

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Wood Elf luver: Oh, did I just leave a cliff hanger? What? I did? Oops, sorry, guess, you know, you'll just have to review and try to figure out what's going to happen. Lol, read, review, and I'll keep typing away. TTYL! : )


	7. Chapter 7

I know, it's been a little while, but I just finished my story What It Means, and I'm working hard to try to make my other story A Random Story! better. So, sorry it's late, but here's the next chapter!

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Legolas tried not to scream as another wave of pain hit his body. Elrond and Aragorn had lifted him up so they could feed him some healing herbs, and the pain that it was causing his wound was almost unbearable. On the other end side of the bed, Legolas was grasping Thranduil's hand so hard that it must've caused Thranduil much pain. But he didn't say anything, not wanting his son to feel guilty.

They laid Legolas back down slowly, so as not to cause him any more pain than was already being assailed upon the young Elf. Elrond had, the fact that Legolas being in tons of pain coming into mind, put a sleeping herb into the mix of herbs that he had put into the tea that they had just given to Legolas. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when Legolas's eyes drooped shut and and his tense body relaxed. Thranduil continued to hold Legolas's hand, which was now completely limp.

Elrond sighed again. "I hate seeing him like this." The other two nodded in agreement. All were thoroughly exhausted and Aragorn looked like he was going to topple any minute. Elrond put an arm around his foster son's shoulders and sat him down in a chair. "Sleep. You need it." Aragorn shook his head. "I'm fine. I need to stay awake as much as you do. Legolas might need me." Elrond smiled. "You'll be no use to him ready to pass out. Besides, he should be asleep for a while now, and Thranduil and I will be here to check on him."

Aragorn nodded, and with that, he fell asleep.

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Wood Elf luver: I'm sorry it's short, but I have been really busy lately. Yesterday was my sis's birthday(I feel sorry for her, since her birthday is a holiday, and it's in the middle of winter) and we were going to have a surprise party, but then it snowed, and..ya, didn't really have a lot of time for this chapter. But the next one will be longer, I promise. Oh, and if you want to vote for my next story line, I still have the poll running on my profile, so you all can vote for your favorite. The preview for the winner will be posted on the last chapter of this story. Until then, adios! TTYL :)


	8. Chapter 8

For those of you who are wondering, this story is almost over. So, if you want a say in what my next story line should be, there's a poll going on in my profile page to where you can pick the story line you think is best! Sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I've been busy. Well, here's the next chapter!

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After a few days, Legolas's condition slowly started to change. He noticed that the pain had only lessened slightly, so slight that he didn't know if it really had, but just that he felt like it did made a difference to how he felt. He was still tired, though he never really woke unless the pain brought him to his senses. Which was happening less and less, sending him into a more healing sleep than before.

Elrond was greatly relieved when Legolas told him that, knowing that the poison could've killed the younger Elf. He didn't know how Legolas had survived, they had thought they'd lost him a couple of times during that very tiring week. He knew that Legolas had survived many an injury, but this one was probably the most painful.

So, when Thranduil and Aragorn heard that Legolas was going to be fine, but they should let him rest for about another week before having him even try to walk. Aragorn literally let out a cheer at the news, leaving the other two to stare at him like he was weird, but with happy smiles on their faces as well.

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Wood Elf luver: Yes, the next chapter will probably be the last, so, the preview for my next story will be posted in the next chapter. But there's still time to vote on the poll! So, you do that. Lol, I already have the first chapter made for the two that look like they're going to be the winners, because no one votes. I MUSTACHE YOU TO VOTE! Lol, I will post the next chapter in two days at about...maybe 7? I don't know, because I have an away basketball game that day, and I might not get home until late. So, sometime next week I'll update! Kk, TTYL:)!


	9. Chapter 9

Ok, so, I'm sorry, I haven't been on in about a week, but that's because I've had basketball all this week, including yesterday, and yesterday i got depressed because we lost the first game of our tournament, and i cried until I almost puked, so I'm a big baby when it comes to sports. Not my fault that I was just getting good at the sport and being more social and talking to my teammates and having a lot of fun. Ok, so maybe it is my fault, but I don't like to think of it that way, since i only just picked up a basketball in October. Well, here is the next chapter finally. By the way, this is the last chapter finally. Hope you like it and the preview for my next story is at the end, for all of those of you who voted via poll or via review. Oh, and we had a tie, so ya. I will be doing the first one first and then starting the second one soon. The preview for it might be in the second chapter of the first one, I'm not sure yet.

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As soon as he started feeling better, Legolas wanted to get out of bed. He was tired of being confined to his small private room in his large bed that took up half the room. Legolas wanted to feel the breeze in his hair and the sun shining down on him. It had been almost two weeks, and he was extremely bored with the arrangement he found himself in now.

Aragorn sat next to him, reading a book, and he just sat there, staring longingly out of the window. He could hear the birds singing outside and wanted so desperately to walk through the trees once again. Aragorn finally notice where his friends' gaze rested, and he sighed. "Legolas, you know that my ada(father) has said that you should stay in bed. You can't yet go outside, you know."

His gaze never leaving the open window, he nodded, sighing at the same time. "I know. I just thought that maybe..." He turned his stare to the balcony door, which had been closed ever since Legolas had been in the private room. Aragorn realized how his friend must feel. Legolas was a wood Elf, he needed to see the sunshine and feel the breeze and hear the trees singing, though not many others could. Aragorn sighed, and went to the balcony door, opening it wide so that the sun cast it's warm rays on the castle's stone floor.

Legolas's gaze finally drifted to Aragorn and he met his friend's eyes. Then he smiled. "You know, we don't ALWAYS have to follow what your ada says. How many times have we not?" Aragorn laughed at his friend's common sense, and went to sit down on the bed where his friend sat.

"You know what? You're right! It won't kill to let you have some fresh air. It might actually help."

Legolas smiled widely, and, with Aragorn's help, slowly stood from the bed, the first time he had been able to stand in the two weeks he had been confined to the small room. It took them a little while to get outside onto the balcony, but despite their effort, to Legolas, as soon as he stepped out of the doors and the wind whipped through his golden hair, he felt his strenght returning fast.

The trees whispered to him, all glad that he was up and better, for they had been greatly worried about him. The first signes of spring were already showing. The flowers were beginning to bud and soon would be gorgeous roses or tulips, sunflowers or daisies. The clear sky was bright blue. Legolas knew that a day like this only came once in a while, and was a very rare gift for a wood Elf. Leaning on the railing that was keeping him from falling right down to the ground, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Aragorn smiled as he watched his friend breath in the fresh air, and put his hands on the railing. All Aragorn was thinking about the moment his father walked in and saw Legolas standing outside, when he was supposed to be in bed resting, was that it was worth anything just to make his friend smile again, giving Legolas a reason to believe.

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Wood Elf luver: Ok, here's the preview! Please do not throw or shoot arrows at me, because most of my previews will probably be cliff hangers! So, here's my preview for my coming story, _My Version!_

_Summary: What if not all of the members of the Fellowship had gotten into Moria unscathed? My version of what I think could've happened._

_Preview:_

_The door opened, and everyone went to go inside. Gimli was too busy boasting about the Mines to notice the corpses on the ground. Boromir looked around nervously. "This isn't a mine. It's a tomb!" The light of Gandalf's staff verified this fact, and Legolas pulled out an arrow from a corpse. "Goblins!" he stated._

_Suddenly, Frodo screamed, and everyone turned to watch as a giant sea monster scooped him up. With everybody's help, they got Frodo free, but then the entrance began to crumble. "Run!" Legolas stayed behind slightly to make sure that everyone else got in. Suddenly, the entrance crumbled to the ground, and everyone was left in the pitch black. Gandalf lighted his staff, and then said that there was no turning back. But before they could move on, Aragorn noticed that there was one less member. "Where's Legolas?" he asked, and everyone turned in horror to the pile of rubble._


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